“I wish you could give this to every teacher,” said my reading specialist mom after reading this book. : )
Jasmine A. Stirling and Vesper Stamper have done an incredible job highlighting Jane Austen’s creative journey. A MOST CLEVER GIRL: HOW JANE AUSTEN DISCOVERED HER VOICE explores how Austen’s writing grew from a childlike silliness to a soulful, witty understanding of the human experience. As Stirling reveals in this captivating narrative, it was a hard-won insight. Through bereavement, poverty, and alienation, Austen developed the extraordinary empathy and vision to create stories that still speak to readers today. The illustrations by Vesper Stamper have an 18th century folk style that brings Austen’s world to life on every page.
Check out this wonderful picture book biography… “with great alacrity.”
PS Jane Austen’s faith had a profound impact on her work, as this prayer excerpt (below) indicates. Her characters are multidimensional because she was honest about humanity. A collection of her prayers have been printed in THE PRAYERS OF JANE AUSTEN (Terry Glaspey, editor), which I hope to read…
